Riley Keough says Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ was an “emotional experience”

Riley Keough, granddaughter of Elvis Presley, has spoken about the “emotional experience” of watching Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis at Cannes Film Festival.

“It’s very intense to watch when it’s your family,” the actor/director told Variety. “The first movie I ever watched in the theater and said I wanted to make movies was ( Luhrmann’s) Moulin Rouge when I was 12. It was a real honour to know Baz was doing this movie. Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge, for the age I was at the time, were really powerful. It wasn’t like I distrusted Baz in any way, but you’re protective over your family.”

Keough went on to say that she watched the biopic with her grandmother, Priscilla Presley, and mother, Lisa Marie Presley and it made her cry.

“In the first five minutes, I could feel how much work Baz and Austin (Butler, who plays Presley) put into trying to get it right. That made me emotional immediately,” Keough said. “I started crying five minutes in and didn’t stop. There’s a lot of family trauma and generational trauma that started around then for our family. I felt honoured they worked so hard to really get his essence, to feel his essence.”

She went on to there was “never” a conversation about her appearing in the film. “It’s intense enough to watch, I don’t want to act in it. It was never a conversation. I think there was a boundary there that felt respected in a nice way.”

Elvis charts the iconic musician’s career through his complicated relationship with manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks).

A synopsis reads: “The story delves into the complex dynamic between Presley and Parker spanning 20 years, from Presley’s rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America.”

Presley’s daughter Lisa Marie Presley has praised the biopic, saying that it’s “nothing short of spectacular” and she believes Butler should win an Oscar.

Doja Cat also released a new single titled ‘Vegas’, which is lifted from the new movie, while Harry Styles has revealed that he auditioned to play Elvis.